Wrangel Tower is named after Field Marshal F. E. H. von Wrangel. He arrived in Königsberg in 1809 as commander of the privileged Cuirassier Regiment. Wrangel Tower was built in 1843 as part of a defensive bastion of the ring of Königsberg. Water tower is surrounded by a moat, thick brick walls and ceiling to within three meters. Within 30 years, in connection with the development of long-range artillery, the construction of the tower was considered outdated, and in the early 20th century tower Wrangel was put out of the fortifications and to April 1945 in any military action did not participate.
During the assault of Königsberg during the World War II the tower was used as a base defense. April 9, 1945 the tower was blocked by Soviet troops, received minor damage and surrendered with the remnants of the Königsberg garrison. Now the tower hosts wholesale stores, warehouses and cafes.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.